Project will close Jackson Street in downtown Battle Creek from March through September

Consumers Energy will be upgrading its infrastructure in downtown Battle Creek and will have to close parts of Jackson Street from late March through September.(Photo: Kalea Hall/The Enquirer)

Portions of Jackson Street in downtown Battle Creek will close next month for a Consumers Energy infrastructure upgrade project.

The street won't reopen entirely until September.

And it won't be downtown's only navigation challenge.

West Michigan Avenue, which runs parallel to Jackson Street, is closed and will remain closed to traffic through at least mid-summer to accommodate the $34 million Heritage Tower renovation project.

"These are upgrades we want to do for all of our customers in the area," Consumers Energy Spokesman Brian Wheeler said. "As Heritage Tower is redeveloped, folks will know they will have reliable, dependable service as that project moves forward. We will accommodate future growth as well as serve what's in place right now."

The utility plans to replace an underground conduit starting in late March. That phase of the project should be complete by late June 2019, at which point the second phase of the project will begin: installing upgraded electric cable. That work will last until late September.

During the project, Jackson Street from McCamly Street to Capital Avenue will be closed in sections, the intersection of Capital Avenue and Jackson Street will be closed for an estimated two weeks, and the intersection of McCalmy and Jackson Streets will be closed for an estimated two-to-three weeks.

"We appreciate people's patience as we go through projects like this," Wheeler said.

City officials are in talks with Consumers on how to minimize the impact on businesses and downtown events scheduled for this summer.

Part of West Michigan Avenue has been closed from Nov. 1 till mid-summer 2019 for the Heritage Tower project at 25 W. Michigan Ave.(Photo: Natasha Blakely/Battle Creek Enquirer)

Wheeler said Consumers is aware of the Battle Creek Farmers Market and will plan to do the work that affects the intersection of McCalmy and Jackson Streets before the market opens in the first week of May.

"Progress is a great thing," City Manager Rebecca Fleury said. "These are all great problems to have because it means things are happening, but we also know that creates a bit of a headache for a little while. What I am most happy about is we have all the right people around the table to make sure that we are not negatively impacting anything more than we have to and that they know our priority is that those summer events and that businesses can be accessed."

During the project, parking along Jackson Street will be unavailable from McCamly Street to Capital Avenue. Parking lot entrances off of Jackson Street will be unavailable at certain times, the parking ramp entrance off of Michigan Avenue will act as a dual entry and exit point.

Contact Kalea Hall at (269) 966-0697 or khall@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow her on Twitter at @bykaleahall.